ABSTRACT

Malaria is still one of the important public health problems in Anatolia. Since Bursa is a well-developed industrial and agricultural province in the Marmara region, migration rate to this region from eastern and southeastern regions of Turkey is quite high. In this retrospective study, malaria cases detected by the Malaria Control Unit Division of the Bursa Health Directorship from 1986-2002 have been evaluated. The total number of slide-positive cases was 700. Out of the 700 cases of malaria, 695 (99.3%) were found to have been caused by Plasmodium vivax and 5 (0.7%), by P. falciparum. Of these cases, 68.8% were male and of the males, 18.4% were soldiers. The majority of the cases (70.5%) had come from the southeastern region of Anatolia. Positivity rates were found to be highest in 1995 (21%) and 1996 (18.5%). In this study, we have reviewed the malaria cases according to age, gender and occupation as well as transmission characteristics, locality and source of infection.